Impressions on Côte d'Ivoire

by Koffi Hervÿ
[ She is a lawyer from Ivory Coast, Africa ]

I live in Abidjan and speak French; though I'm begining to learn English.
Abidjan is the biggest town with a population of around 3 million.

Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire in French) is a country in West Africa with a population of around 16 million; probably less than that of city Bombay in India! Around 26% of the population is made up of foreigners coming from other African countries around us and also from Asia(there's a great community of Lebanon and Syria). Our neighbouring countries are Ghana(east), Mali and Burkina-Faso(north), Guinea and Liberia(west).

The people in Ivory Coast speak 70 local languages(which is too many for a small country). The most important are Baoule, Malinke or Dioula, Bete, Senoufo, Agni...

I'm a Christian and am from Baoule's group. In Baoule's culture, people are accustomed to give names to children according to their day of birth. For example, "konan" means the man who is born on wednesday, "kouassi" - who is born on monday, etc. My name Koffi means "who is born on saturday".

The most important religion here is Animism, an African religion. In my tribal group there's a supreme god called "Niamien Kpli", which is a bit like Allah for Muslims or Yahve for Christians.

We celebrate local festivals, like "generation festival" by people in the south. It's a moment for these people to recognize that young boys are now mature and can take part in the administration of the tribal society.

The main food in Ivory Coast comprises of rice, cassava, yam and plantain. I like particularly "attieke" - it's made with cassava and we eat it with fish.

The country is a popular tourist destination. Yamoussoukro, located in the centre of the country, has the famous Basilica - Our Lady of Peace. Its bigger than the Basilica of Roma in Italia. Its also known for crocodile's lake. The sea, natural beaches, and bays attract European tourists to the south of the country.

I love my country and hope to visit India sometime in the near future.